Maximus James
Maximus Andrew James was born on January 22, 2061 to Matthew James and Erin Edwards. He has an older brother, Tyler James, who attended Durmstrang Institute. He started his first year at Hogwarts in September 2072 and sorted into Ravenclaw. He will graduate with the class of 2079. Personality and Interests Personality-wise, Max hasn't changed all that much since his first year at Hogwarts. He has always been a sweetheart and naturally quiet, though he has learned to be more talkative with new people over the years. He has a big heart and wants to help everyone all the time. Unfortunately, he often worries about intruding in the lives of others, so he may not always speak up and offer assistance unless a desire for his guidance is requested. He is an excellent motivator and encourager; he will smother any given person with love and praise, if they let him. As he enjoys living in a world of peace, harmony, and love, conflict is not something he knows how to deal with efficiently. He crumbles when he manages to let someone down, though he has been trying to not worry so much about what people think of him as of late. Max enjoys reading and studying in his free time. He's surely not the smartest Ravenclaw as he tends to bore easily over miniscule details, but he enjoys learning and discovering new ideas and concepts. When he's not living in a world of books, Max can be found meandering the grounds. He has a passion for most Hogwarts subjects, but he absolutely cannot tolerate Arithmancy, Divination, or Ancient Runes. (Seriously, he's a nerd - he LOVES the remaining nine classes.) He has a natural knack for Magical Creatures and Flying, though, thanks to the influence of his parents. History Early Life Born on the 22nd of January in 2061, Maximus Andrew James was born into an odd Wizarding family, consisting of a Magizoologist father, Matthew James; a professional Quidditch player mother, Erin James (nee Edwards); and his brother Tyler James (b. March 13, 2058). His father was a former Gryffindor and his mother a former Hufflepuff. Max grew up in a home environment filled with Magical Creatures, thanks to his father. Matthew James was rather distant, finding his work to be far more interesting than Max many days. Unfortunately, his mother Erin James was absent quite often as well, traveling with the Appleby Arrows as a starting Chaser since 2066. Despite his parents' extreme interests in their professions, Max enjoyed the time he had with them - and they seemed to enjoy the time they spent with him as well. He didn't complain; he was happy for the time with them he had, and, as he found both of their job professions to be fascinating, he understood their passions and didn't hold their absences against them. Pre-Hogwarts Years As Max grew older, his older brother Tyler James grew more snarky and ridiculing. The two boys went from playing nicely together in their younger years to Tyler criticizing Max's so-called "nerdiness" on a regular basis by the time Max was eight. He was hurt and confused by his brother's personality change, but Max stuck to what he loved - his "nerdiness." Luckily, by the time Max was ten, Tyler went off to Durmstrang Institute - he refused the idea of Hogwarts - so he only had to endure a couple years of his brother's antics(through which he survived by taking refuge in his constant friend: books, the ultimate soul-soother). When Max received his Hogwarts letter, he had been waiting at the windowsill with Matthew James as Tyler was at Durmstrang and Erin James was with the Arrows. His father immediately went into a spiel about how his academics were going to be incredibly important, and how he should get into the mindset of earning at least ten OWLs now so that he would set himself up to succeed. Max, who didn't appreciate a lecture about something he loved most, school, agreed to get at least ten OWLs as to not upset his father. The next time his mother stopped home, she talked to him about joining a Quidditch team. Max wasn't so sure - he had no confidence in himself, surely not enough to go out for the Quidditch team during his first term. Clearly disappointed, his mother dropped the subject for the time being. Max and his parents discussed his possible houses - Erin saw him as a Hufflepuff, Matthew saw him as a Ravenclaw(though he was clearly disappointed that Max lacked typical Gryffindor traits). Ultimately, Max told them he was just going to let the hat decide, as he had no opinion one way or the other. His parents convinced him to roam Diagon Alley on his own for the first time - they had been there many times before, but Max had never been on his own. He made his way through the street, getting bumped around by passers-by, and fortunately had soon-to-be seventh year Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain Nia Newtington take him under her wing. She helped him pick up all the supplies he needed for his first term at Hogwarts. While inside Flourish and Blotts, Max met soon-to-be second year Ravenclaw Ellie Stone. He found her to be strikingly beautiful and knew he wanted to be friends with her. Now that he had easily made two Ravenclaw friends, he felt that Ravenclaw was the house for him. Hogwarts First Year (2072-2073) When Max had his scary experience in front of the school with the Sorting Hat, the hat had trouble deciding between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Somewhere just after the four-minute mark, Max pleaded for placement into Ravenclaw; the Sorting Hat agreed to Max's wish just under five minutes after the hat had been placed upon his head, and he hurried to join his table, making sure to give big smiles down to the table to his Diagon Alley friends Nia Newtington and Ellie Stone. Fortunately for Max, the Triwizard Tournament was held this term, so he could not have disappointed his mother by not trying out for the Quidditch team. On the down side, however, Max was dismayed for Nia because she wouldn't get to play Quidditch during her last term at Hogwarts. Max spent his first few months at Hogwarts completely overwhelmed with fascination - and intimidation. He often found himself wishing all the big kids would go away so he could explore the school without them commenting on how "cute" he was in passing. (He was chubby, small, and blushed every time someone addressed him - the epitome of cute.) While studying in the common room, Max took great interest in Ellie Stone's upbeat personality and curious ways. One day, she noticed him and asked him to play chess with her. Despite his thirst for knowledge, Max wasn't entirely sure how to play - and neither was she, it seemed. They resorted to enjoying each other's company, much to Max's delight, until fellow Ravenclaw Eli Jarod interrupted. The older Ravenclaw boy made it very clear that Ellie was his - or something like that - and scared Max away. He only talked to Ellie in passing for the remainder of the term, anxious that he would be sought out by Eli for talking to Eli's girlfriend, or so Max thought. Second Year (2073-2074) Now completely acquainted with the school and its wonders, Max embraced his studies as his best friend. After losing his closest friend Nia through graduation, Max tried spending more time with his classmates. Though he was not afraid to talk to Ellie this term(upon realizing that Eli was harmless), their friendship took smaller steps, but Max mostly kept to himself for this term. He found friends in small study groups and those sitting nearest to him in classes. He attended every Quidditch match religiously and took a great interest in those on the Ravenclaw team. He aspired to be like them some day. He excelled nicely in Flying classes, but held back from his full potential out of insecurity. His mom had taught him well; he knew plenty about how to be a good flier. But there was no way he was going to potentially make a fool out of himself in front of the whole school like that. No way. Max took a greater liking to subjects such as Charms and Astronomy this term. He spent a lot of his time looking up every fun charm he could as well as all the fun Astronomy facts he could. (He had high hopes to impress a girl with those some day.) Third Year (2074-2075) Max first became overwhelmed with his school work during his third term at Hogwarts. He found it difficult to balance all of his primary loves - Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, and Muggle Studies. Fortunately, he did learn that he abhorred Divination, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy; however, this did not factor well into his father's wishes for his ten OWLs. Despite being nervous over the possibility of disappointing his father, Max did not tell his father that his wishes would not come true just because Max couldn't find it in his heart to love one more subject. His interest in Quidditch also spiked this term. As his friendship continued to grow with Ellie Stone, her influence rubbed off on him. He was SO proud of his good friend for being Ravenclaw's seeker, but after a tough loss, his heart broke for her. After the match, he tried his best to cheer her up by conjuring a beautiful bouquet of flowers for her. It worked, it seemed, and Max realized he had a best friend outside of his books and Magical Creatures. By the end of the term, Max was seriously contemplating the idea of attending Ravenclaw Quidditch tryouts next term. He not only longed to have that kind of fun with his newfound best friend, but he also began to wonder if he could do it. He knew he had talent, but would he be good enough to make the team? He wasn't sure, nor did he discuss his thoughts with anyone. But for Max to even be'' considering'' jumping so far out of his comfort zone was a massive deal. Good for you, Max. Fourth Year (2075-2076) He did it! Not only did Max hit a growth spurt and shed some pounds over the summer, he managed to express his thoughts of joining the Quidditch team to his best friend - and the new Quidditch Captain - Ellie Stone! She convinced him to give it a try. It couldn't hurt, right? As it turned out, Max was an impressive Keeper. He did so well, in fact, that Quidditch even managed to take priority over his studies. In their first match against Hufflepuff, he only let one quaffle past him. While he was elated, he realized his disconnection from his favorite classes and geared his attention back toward his studies. In their next game against Gryffindor, he let TWO goals pass him. That was no good, in his mind, so he worked harder at making Quiddich a bigger priority once again. As a result, in Ravenclaw's final match of the term against Hufflepuff, Max only let one quaffle pass him. He was PROUD, and had the honor of being number one on the leaderboard for most goals saved for the term. He was the best Keeper in the school! He was very outwardly modest, but on the inside, that kind of glory filled up every hole of emptiness his previous insecurity had left in his heart. Though the Quidditch rocked his world, Max's friendship with Ellie grew to be awkward, at least from his standpoint. Max and Ellie had good times on the Quidditch pitch, but Ellie's relationship with Treyen Lockhart made Max especially uncomfortable. Even though Ellie was oblivious, Max had been crushing on Ellie since his first term at Hogwarts. Treyen was a big bad Hufflepuff Prefect - how could Max compete with that? Max felt as though he needed to tread lightly in how he acted around Ellie so that Treyen wouldn't think he was trying to "steal" Ellie from him in any way. Luckily, no such accusations were ever made. For this term, Max was voted "Most Likely to Play Professional Quidditch" in the yearbook superlatives. Fifth Year (2076-2077) Under construction Sixth Year (2077-2078) Under construction Seventh Year (2078-2079) Under construction Quidditch Under construction Ravenclaw Quidditch 2075-2076 Ravenclaw Team: Seeker - Ellie Stone (HaRoHeGiNeLu) Captain Keeper - Maximus James (Grangerfn1) Chaser - Vashti Greenwell (AlwaysSnapesGirl) Chaser - Jasmina Bennett (DH Vixen) Chaser - Hugo Doyle (neaped) Beater - Spike Hutchinson (hermygirl) Beater - Hateya Stern (Ashwinder) Reserves: Reserve - Indiana Hutchinson (RachieRu) Reserve - Eino Uronen (Starbreeze) Reserve - Beatrice Castell (tomewitch) Reserve - Luna Kieren (Orla) Game Results Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw - Hufflepuff wins (150-80) (Max blocks 7 goals) Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw - Ravenclaw wins (210-0) (Max blocks 3 goals) Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw - Hufflepuff wins (150-40) (Max blocks 4 goals) Ravenclaw Quidditch 2076-2077 Ravenclaw Quidditch 2077-2078 Ravenclaw Quidditch 2078-2079 Relationships Under construction Family Matthew James Erin James Tyler James Friends Ellie Stone Spike Hutchinson Indiana Hutchinson Vashti Greenwell Ella Bishop Influences Maximus Vindictus Nia Newtington